Color is the easy part to change and the hard part to choose
A new exterior color scheme changes how a house looks from the street more than almost anything else you can do for the money. It's also easy to regret. Colors look different on a large wall than on a chip, different in morning light than at dusk, and different next to the roof and the neighbors' houses. This page is about choosing well, writing the choice down, and knowing what Slidell's own code says for one part of town.
Slidell in the city's words
The City of Slidell says the town began to flourish around 1882 during construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, and that it officially became a town on November 13, 1888, taking its name from the train station named in 1883. The history card below links to the city's account.
The Olde Towne Preservation District
Slidell's Unified Development Code sets out a process for one district, and both cards below quote it. For the Olde Towne Preservation District, the code calls for an approved certificate of appropriateness before any exterior alteration of a property, with the note that exterior alterations to non-historic structures may be approved administratively by the Director of Planning. The application, the code says, must carry full plans and specifications showing the proposed appearance, color, texture, materials and architectural design, for the front, sides, rear and roof of every structure being altered. Color is named in that list, which is why it belongs on this page.
We print those two rules as the code states them, and we don't say how they apply to any one house. If your property is in Olde Towne, the code's own text and the city's planning staff are where to start, and the cards link to the code.
Testing colors before committing
- Buy sample quarts, not just chips, and paint large swatches, each one large enough to judge from across the yard, on more than one wall.
- Look at them in the morning, at midday and in the evening, and on a cloudy day.
- Put the body, trim and accent samples side by side; they read differently together than apart.
- Look from the street, not from the porch.
- Live with them for several days before deciding.
Building a scheme
Most exterior schemes have three parts: a body color for the siding, a trim color for corner boards, fascia, window casings and railings, and an accent for the front door and perhaps shutters. A strong contrast between body and trim emphasizes the architecture; a quiet one makes the house read as a single mass. Darker colors absorb more sun and can show fading sooner; very light colors show dirt. Our guide to paint sheens and finishes explains which sheen suits each part.
Writing it down
Whether or not your house is in a district with its own rules, the color decision belongs in the proposal, in writing:
1. the manufacturer, product line, color name and color code for each part of the house; 2. the sheen for each; 3. which elements get which color, down to gutters, downspouts, vents and the porch ceiling; 4. who supplies the paint, and whether leftover cans of each color stay with you for touch-ups.
A written schedule saves arguments later, and it's the only record a future painter will have of what's on your walls.
After the swatches
Once the scheme is settled, the rest of the job follows the usual pattern: washing, scraping, repairs, caulking, primer, then color. The exterior painting page walks through that sequence, and the pricing guide explains how scope and condition shape a quote.